"We started this transformation in 2015", Barra said. Still, Henry called the closure decision baffling, given the corporation invested more than $500 million in the plant to build pickup trucks only recently.

The automaker said that it would shut down propulsion-component plants in Maryland and MI, and idle two additional, unnamed assembly plants outside the US.

Frank Gunn/Canadian Press The GM plant in Oshawa on January 24, 2018. Production began on November 7, 1953, and in the 1980s the plant employed roughly 23,000 people.

The sudden and apparently irreversible closure of one of GM's oldest vehicle plants represents a new challenge for Prime Minister Trudeau after a year of uncertainty over the future of North American trade, continuing tariffs on steel and aluminum and new North American content rules for autos.

"The closure of this plant will have a ripple effect like we have never seen before".

The closure of the plant is expected to result in the loss of more than 2,500 jobs in Oshawa.

Unifor, the union representing more than 2,500 workers at the plant, said it has been informed that there is no product allocated to the Oshawa plant past December 2019.

The entrance of these new companies does open some possibilities for other manufacturing in Canada, said Yates. The shift will eliminate thousands of factory jobs and 15 per cent of the company's salaried staff.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Magna Auto Systems says it's too early to tell what kind of impact the GM closures will have on auto parts makers here. "These are things we're doing to strengthen the core business", GM chief executive and chairwoman Mary Barra told reporters Monday. GM propulsion plants in White Marsh, Md., and Warren, Mich., are also due to close as well. "We recognize the need to stay in front of changing market conditions and customer preferences to position our company for long-term success".

"GM is leaving Canada".

"If GM Canada is indeed turning its back on 100 years of industry and community - abandoning workers and families in Oshawa - then this is a callous decision that must be fought", she said in a statement on Sunday, adding that she hopes the province joins her in the fight.

"We have a collective agreement that says they're not closing any of our facilities ... so we will do anything by any means to make sure that they live up to their word", Dias said at a press conference in a packed union hall.

"Today we got our first major preview of how this upheaval will manifest", he added. Last month, GM rival Ford Motor. "We supported GM years ago when they were in trouble". Vehicles have become more "software-oriented" and GM will be looking to hire more employees with the "right skill set" going forward, she said.

Porter said those laid off at the Oshawa plant will struggle to replicate the wages they earned at GM, and expects the absence of the Oshawa's long-time largest employer will be a serious setback for the region's economy.

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